welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for you. snow, ice, and wind, across the south, winter weather roaring again. some power outages already being reported. and across the pond, parts of britain swamped with flood waters and 100 mile an hour winds predicted today. plus a union vote in tennessee that could affect auto makers across the country. ♪

the deep south is back in the deep freeze, a major winter storm slamming the southeastern u.s., dumping snow and ice on texas overnight, claiming four lives in the process. in north carolina and other parts of the south crews are preparing roads in advance of the storm. utility crews from florida and other states heading up into the storm to try to help out. robert did they heed the governor's warning and stay off of the roads this time? >> i think 100%. i'm walking over an ice bridge on i-75 and absolutely no one is out here. pretty much everyone is hunkered down, all of metro atlanta, about 6 million plus. this is interstate 75, dell,

this is where the gridlock occurred just two weeks ago. some travel on here seems to be going [ technical difficulties ] >> reporter: -- it looks like we're in this for about the next 24-hours plus. some new numbers in from georgia power, a little over 100,000 people in metro atlanta right now without power, so crews are dispersing, trying to get that fixed, but with the weather the way it is, and the conditions on side roads -- these sheets of ice, this is premuch the way all

of the side roads are. they are trying to get it fixed by dumping sand and salt. they have done pretreating unlike two weeks ago, but most of the people sitting in their houses, no school, no work, and waiting it out, del. >> robert thank you very much. pictures worth a thousand words. that picture speaks a lot. if you are flying today, you might want to check ahead. a website that tracks the data says there are more than 3,000 delays elsewhere. this time people are wondering if this is going to be as bad, already it looks pretty nasty. >> it is pretty nasty, and really just getting started. that's the big problem here, and it's across the southeast now. no longer do we have the

watches, warnings, orred a i viseries, you are getting that rain falling into air that is below freezing, and that's where you get these ice problems coming in. it's this area where it's down below freezing, and we see the first wave of moisture moving out, but here comes the heavy rain, and that translates to sleet and freezing rain through georgia. we have cold air trapped in place, and warm air coming up over the top of that. here is the heavy sleet and ice accumulation. this is 5:00, very heavy rain, sleet, freezing rain, and snow. and it will continue to push off to the northeast by 10:00. there is the back edge by midnight tonight. and now it's off the coast intensifying, and it will start to move up to the mid-atlantic

and northeast. look at that with the complete forecast coming up, but as far as the southeast, 11:00 tomorrow morning it is done, just the cold air left in place. look at the snow amounts and what to expect across new england coming up a little later >> in southern england the problem is rain and that situation is getting worse. 16 severe flood warnings already in place. one of the hardest-hit areas is the community of racebury which is protected by levies. and i understand that residents are on red alert? >> reporter: that's right. a lot of the areas on flood alert. you can see one of hundreds of roads around this area that are flooded out. people are walking by us with pieces of wood as they are trying to get their furniture

off of the ground floor. they have put sandbags all over. we have been around this area for the last couple hours, and this village is not the hardest hit, windsor, the river -- you can't even distinguish where the river starts and where it ends. and we talked to adam hind from northern end -- england, he is a water expert. >> it's all over the country, now, isn't it? it has been a gradual thing, hasn't it? the prolonged rain. but we'll cope. >> reporter: and this problem is not just here. across southern england you see villages like this. just here there are 5,000 people, 900 homes have been evacuated by the river thames just a few hundred yards this way.

we have talked to residents here who some are staying some are leaving because they can't stay anymore when their water gets into the ground floor. electricity has come in as well. the army is here at night protecting homes, but during the day it's mostly the local people taking care of things. >> and i understand david cameron is pledging financial relief. to what extent? >> reporter: he has said there is no element on the money to be spent here. he recognizes the government has been heavily criticized. these are regular people in regular homes. the people here complain that it was the government that made this probably building a dam upstream about ten years ago, and they never had these problems -- people who lived here for 30 years. it is a huge problem. millions and millions of dollars

of damage. we had a couple today it budgeted down with rain earlier, the sun is out, but the rain is not over. we're expecting more and more rain in the next coming days, and it could take weeks if not months for this water to go down. >> jennifer thank you very enough. in washington president obama will make an official minimum wage hike for federal contract workers. it raises their rate to $10.25 an hour. the order goes into effect next year. the president hoping that raising the minimum wage, he says by all workers by the end of the second term will boost the economy. the senate is next in line to lift the debt ceiling. the house narrowly passing the measure yesterday. it ends republicans long-running

tactic to ties the debt limit to cuts in social spending. this time it would have been tied to military pensions. but democrats could face a filibuster. the american public fed up with washington. there's a new poll that finds that 60% would replace each and every member of congress if they could, and that is a record. the senate's top republican is now fighting to keep his job, and lib -- libby casey joins us now. >> mitch mcconnell is a target for democrats who would love to shake up the g.o.p. by unseating him. he has got a tough reelection battle that is already heating up. >> this is not a very proud day in the history of the sen that it. >> reporter: senator mcconnell is less popular than president

obama in kentucky, and that's a low bar. >> they cook up some fake fight over judges. >> reporter: a third of kentucky's republican voters say he compromises with the white house too often. matt bevin is challenging him. >> the people of kentucky are fed up with you fighting to keep your job while people in kentucky are losing their jobs. >> there is a disease of dysfunction in washington, d.c., and after 30 years, senator mcconnell is at the center of it. >> reporter: for three decades mitch mcconnell has represented kentucky in washington, rising to become the senate's top republican leader, but now with his next election nine months

away, a poll shows the democrat, grimes four points ahead. washington correspondent jim carroll says this virtual dead heat has the g.o.p. concerned and the democrats smelling blood. >> they seem him as the symbol of republican obstructionism in the senate. republicans want to reelect him because they feel they are this close to taking the u.s. senate. >> reporter: and he says millions of dollars are pouring in for mcconnell from outside of kentucky. grimes is getting her own bump. but republican campaign strategies say mcconnell has survived in politics by never taking an election for granted. >> it's a really long way off, and it hasn't even really begun. >> reporter: and yet the clock is already ticking for mcconnell to turn around opinions of

voters in his home state. strategies say he is fairly confident he can deal with the fra train -- flank attack. but what he has to do is balance his status as a national politician with that old fashioned retail politics that gets you votes back home. >> what would it look like if republicans seize control of the senate? >> strategies say that go hand in hand that if republicans want to get control of the senate, they have got to keep this seat symbolically and also sheer number count wise. >> thank you very much. a court date has now been set in connection with the boston marathon bombing case. the trial was going to start on november 3rd this year. he is accused of planting bombs at the finish line of the boston marathon. federal prosecutors say thigh

will seek the death penalty. employees at a volkswagon plant vote on joining a union. and you can buy just about anything online these days, now you'll be able to bid on a doctor.

in florida closing arguments are underway in the case of a

teenager shot to death over loud music. these are live images right no coming out of jacksonville, florida. jordan davis was riding in a suv when they began arguing with dunn. voelkers at a volkswagon plant in tennessee are voting on whether to join a union. some believe this could be a precedent changing the way the south does business. jonathan martin is live. jonathan for years the word south and union weren't even used in the same sentence. >> reporter: that's right, del. when this plant was built four years ago there was no talk of a union, but that's what is

being talked about today. this vote is being watched by a lot of state leaders and union leaders. >> we're pretty confident that we will win the vote. >> reporter: this man works in quality assurance. he is happy with his pay and benefits, but feels he has no voice in key decisions made by management. the uaw would bargain wages and helps to set up a work council which is standard in germany at a volkswagon plants in other countries. >> it would locally help us have more open communication with management for improving anything on the lines or anything though employees may discern is important to them.

>> reporter: 1600 hourly employees are voting this week by secret ballot. if the uaw is successful in unionizing the chattanooga plant, it could lead to a push for unions at other plants. >> i feel like they are ramming this down my throat. >> reporter: mike feels a union could create more red tape, hurt his wallet and lead to more work hours. he says the uaw is making too many promises. >> they are telling them they are going to give them $28 an hour. i'm making more money than that now, so i'm going to take a cut in pay, but they are being told that they are going to make more money. >> we're down to 40 hours a week, instead of six days a week, and we have a three-day weekend every week. let's no mess that up. >> reporter: the united auto

workers has declined requests to speak to al jazeera. some outside conservative groups are weighing in. the center for worker pre.com has rented billboards in tennessee, blaming the uaw for detroit's financial troubles. tennessee's governor has also said the union will hurt the chances of attracting other companies. >> they have said if the uaw comes in there, we will be much less likely to locate a plant close to chattanooga. >> reporter: a solid majority of workers at the plant, the uaw says, want to unionize. this whole is being facilitated by the national labor relations

board. del, we won't have a result any time today. likely that will be sometime friday or early in the weekend. >> jonathan martin in chattanooga, tennessee where you can see the snow is falling there as well, jonathan, thank you very much. ♪ wall street fighting right now to regain its footing. amazon, says it is highing, saying it needs to fill 2500 full-time jobs at its discenters across the country. they say they offer, benefits, bonuses and stocks. and home depot is also hiring. they said they need to fill about 80,000 positions for the spring. spring is its peak sales season. for years people have been

buying cars, art, even houses online and you can bid on a doctor. >> reporter: zach foster will be the first person to admit he does don't be to the doctor very often, but when he wasn't feeling well, he said a new website made finding a doctor too easy to resist. >> it allows me to determine how much i would spending and how much i would have left if i needed further testing. >> reporter: zach is one of about a half dozen patients who are shopping for health care. >> the train has left the station on cost transparency. consumers are now asking questions about costs, and providers are thinking of different vehicles which they

can provide that information to the consumer. >> reporter: snap health, which is used by more than 20,000 doctors works like an e-commerce site. you get to go online, shop for the service or type of doctor you are looking for, and compare prices. once you have found your match, you pay out of pocket right there on the website. your insurance company does not come in to play at all. a urologist in pasadena, texas, says the direct payment model cuts out at least 50% of his overhead. >> this frees up my staff to actually help the patients. this frees me up to take care of the patient and not the paperwork. >> we make sure they don't have a malpractice history. >> reporter: others include m medibid. a criticaled pocket doc works

like a. mafing service. >> we're living really in a laboratory if you will in real time, so there will be a lot of different models that will be tried. some will have staying power, some will not. >> reporter: e-commerce is not just changing the healthcare game for consumers and doctors, they are also changing the game for employers. some are offering them for coverage, forcing insurance companies to be upfront about costs. zach says the medical help he found has been life changing. >> the doctor has been able to give me great feedback, i was able to incorporate that advice into my daily life. >> reporter: stacey tisdale, al jazeera, new york. up next on al jazeera america, the oldest working paper boy in america shows that age is just a number.

he shares his secret to success and survival straight ahead.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are your headlines at this hour. we're watching a landmark labor vote in tennessee. workers a volkswagon plant voting on whether to join a union. in southern england 16 severe flood warnings now this place. a hard-hit area is about 25 miles west of london. another serious ice storm now slamming the southeast. the national weather service predicting more than an inch of ice could accumulate in parts of georgia. but schools have been closed and as you can see most drivers are staying home. and as we saw the interstates are almost empty this time. >> yeah, and they are getting that coating of ice now.

we are talking about a significant snow storm, but not until tomorrow. we're dealing with the ice now. temperatures forecasted below freezing, getting rain fall going this very cold area. so that is the problem there. willing testimony is at 38. the cold air is trapped in place from the north, and we're getting a lot of the warm air and moisture coming up from the south. this continues through 6:00, by 7:00, 8:00, we're still seeing that mixing coming down, but it will be starting to clear off and move off the coast. half inch or more of ice in this pink area. once you get to that range the ice will bring down trees and power lines. the storm will intensify overnorth carolina, and bring

even more moisture up, and the storm pushes north. snow dropping first off tomorrow morning, then tries to bring the warm air, so it could change over, but not until after you see that heavy snow by tomorrow morning's rush hour. and then you are getting the back edge of the storm with the cold air. a significant snowfall across the northeast where it is cold enough. del? >> dave warren thank you very much. neither rain, snow, or sleet is supposed to stop your mail, but what about your newspaper? john hen rin reports at age 95 this man has one heck of a work ethic. >> reporter: the oldest paper boy in america says he is still doing what he knows best, working. >> keep working. i tell ya, i was born on a farm,

eight of us kids, depression, we didn't know anything but work. >> reporter: at 95, despite colon cancer, and more recently a broken arm, that seems to be working for frank wheeler. he starts his day at 5:00, no alarm required. he was born in the days after world war i, started his own construction business in 1936, and served as a sailor in the pacific in the second world war. frank stopped working construction full-time about six years. that's when he moved on to delivering newspapers some of them to friends at the local retirement home. many are younger than he is. >> thank you, frank. how are you? >> good. >> you are looking pretty good. >> he still exercises, though that looks a little different than it used to.

he wasn't smoke or drink, not even coffee, and still tried to set an example for his son. >> you see that in families if mothers and fathers smoke, as teenagers you are probably going to pick up the habit. and that's what we tried to instill in our children. neither of them has much patience with the next generation. >> they are just different. they expect a check to come. when i was willing to work for. that's my feeling. >> we used to have people -- college students, or high school who would want to come into a job, but too many of them anymore, if it does haven't a seat or motor on it, they don't want to do it. >> reporter: are you ever going to stop working? >> no. >> reporter: no? >> no. >> i figure when the mortician comes to pick him up, that will be the time he stops working. >> reporter: but the time the

sunrises here, frank's workday is done. the key he says is to get up the next morning and do it all over again. >> thank you for watching. al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "inside story" is next. >> i'm ray suarez. here is the "inside story." ♪